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L.A. GUNS: 'Shrinking Violet' Reissue Artwork Unveiled

The Tracii Guns-led version of L.A. GUNS has inked a deal with the Steve Vai-owned label Favored Nations/Jibboom, which is Favored Nations Entertainment's rock/metal division. This division stands separate from Favored Nations Entertainment and will be the label's home for all things hard rock and metal.

Favored Nations/Jibboom will reissue the 1999 L.A. GUNS album "Shrinking Violet" sometime this summer. The LP will be completely repackaged with new artwork and five brand new, never-before-heard, live bonus tracks.

The Favored Nations/Jibboom label was born when Vai brought in industry veteran Dean Schachtel as General Manager of Favored Nations Entertainment over a year ago. Schachtel oversees all aspects of the label and reports directly to Vai and, with his hard rock/metal background, it made sense to start the Favored Nations/Jibboom division.

"When Steve mentioned to me that he wanted to start a hard rock and metal division, I knew I was the right guy for the job. Having grown up in Los Angeles, I had the pleasure of seeing a lot of these bands in their early incarnations. I'm a huge hard rock and metal fan myself — my son's godfather is Ronnie James Dio — so, naturally, I'm thrilled to be working with Tracii and L.A. GUNS," said Schachtel.

L.A. GUNS has recently been touring in two competing lineups: one featuring Tracii Guns, and another led by his Eighties bandmates, singer Phil Lewis and drummer Steve Riley. "Tracii's L.A. GUNS is bogus," Riley told Rolling Stone magazine. "People want to hear the songs sung by the original lead singer." Guns countered, "Those guys are a couple of dirty motherfuckers. I hired them for my band — if you get hired as a manager at McDonald's, you don't take over the McDonald's."

Guns told Rolling Stone that he was going to court, and he hoped to get the name back. "I just want to put it to bed and start a new band," he said. "This has proved beyond 'Spinal Tap' ridiculous. The next chapter would be us trying to book a convenience store and battling over the $300 they'd pay us."

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